In Matthew 27:9–10, the Gospel of Matthew quotes a passage from Zechariah but attributes it to the prophet Jeremiah. The book Twenty-Six Reasons Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus uses this apparent blunder to undermine the credibility of the gospels. A closer look at the text, however, reveals an ancient and long-lost gospel-source behind Matthew’s error which offers us insight into the world of apostolic midrash.
Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me." (Matthews 27:9-10)
This lesson includes the original class-notes in a downloadable pdf format.
